CHL changes OT to 3-on-3

Overtime periods will be a little more wide open for the Missouri Mavericks and their Central Hockey League opponents now.

The CHL came out of last week’s Annual Meetings in Chandler, Arizona, with a pair of rules adjustments – changing overtime to a 3-on-3 for the five-minute period and altering the punishment for fighting major penalties.

Both changes received unanimous approval, the CHL said in a press release Monday.

Overtime will remain five minutes long, but with three players on a side (plus the goalie) instead of four. Should a penalty occur, teams will skate 4-on-3 or 5-on-3, depending the situation of the penalized team. If the teams are still tied, the shootout process will remain the same last season.

“Upon recommendations by the coaches of the CHL, we are excited to move forward with the hybrid change to overtime,” Jim Wiley, CHL Director of Hockey Operations, said in the release. “Fans will be thrilled to see the talent on the open ice, and with as many chances as a 3-on-3 session will present, more winning results should be the outcome.”

In addition, CHL teams voted to assess a game misconduct penalty to any player who received two fighting majors in the same game, unless the second major is the result of the player’s opponent receiving an instigator penalty. In such a case, the game misconduct penalty will not apply.

“This adjustment falls in line with continued efforts by professional hockey leagues to maximize and improve player safety,” Wiley said.

The CHL’s regular season begins on Oct. 24, and the playing schedule will be unveiled in the near future.